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@nitro vtatrs getraut @fitta F. A. BREWSTER, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

Laim Patent No. 67,158, dated .my so, 1867.

i IMPROVEMENT IN HGOP-SKIRTS..

i ilge tStlgrhalr ttfrtnt tu in tipa trttttt tant mit mating part at its samt.

TO ALL @HOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be i't known that I, F. A. BREWSTER, ofSpringtield, in the county of Hampden, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Hoop-Skirts; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the lettre-rs of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of said improved hoop-skirt.

The nature ot' my invention consists in constructing out of ordinary skirt-wire, tapes,and other usual materials, a hoop-skirt, ot' the same contour and general appearance as the ordinary .hoop-skirts now in use, but which can be drawnor pressed into a smaller compass about the person of the wearer, if necessary, and it' not so pressed or folded, will maintain its full size, and answer every use of the ordinary hoop-skirt in expanding the clothing.

My invention therefore relates to the manner of constructing a hoop-skirt, which, in addition to the ordinary uses and propertiesoi` the article, can also be contracted in size, or folded into a less space, whenever thc convenience of the wearer may require, as in sitting down, or in ascending or descending a staircase, or moving along a crowded street.

, The construction of my invention is as follows: The upper part oi` the skirt is constructed in the usual manner, with suspending tapes descending vfrom a waistband, and tempered and flattened wire, generally called springs, and wound or coated with twine, or other covering, running aroundor partly around the skirt, and fastengd to the suspending tapes by clamps, rivets, or other means of securing them. few-of the upper wires do'not generally pass' entirely around the skirt, but stop short of, joining at 'the ends, so that an opening is left in front, immediately below the waistband. The remainder of the wires or springs pass entirely around the skirt in most forms of construction. In my method of forming a hoop-skirt the wires in the lower part of the skirt Ydo`not extend entirely around the skirt, but the ends are secured in the suspending tapes b I1. I do not limit myself as to theinhmbcr of wires c e e, which run entirely around the skirt, or tothe number of wiresg'g employed to pass from b round to b', as the same will vary with the size and purpose of each skirt. But Ipropose to apply the springs gg, ivhich run from b to b' around the rear of the skirt, for the distance of about one-half olf the height of the skirt. As the ends oflg g are fastened in the tapes b b', I connect the tapes I; b by other tapes or bands a a a a, running in the same direction as the Wires or springs g e e. I have substituted for the bands a aa rectangular piece of thin cloth, -which serves about thc saine purpose as the'bands vin preventing the lower part of the tapes b b from flying apart b'y the action of the springs. The semi-elliptical spring d d, made of common hoop-sk irt wire, is sewed or clamped to the bands a a a a, as shown, and serves to give the portion of the skirt formed by the bandsa a the propel' tension and elasticity. To preserve the circular form of the skirt, I also find it necessary to apply short pieces of skirt-wires fff to the springs g y g, or to aiportion of them, these smaller pieces being clamped to the main springs g g at it", and adjusted to the springs y g, so as' to obviate the tendency of the lutter to straighten. l i r The main points of novelty in my invention, as applied to heopskirts of the usual form, are the substitution, in the lower portion of the skirt, for continuous springs, running entirely around thc skirt, of springsgg, running from b to b', as shown; the application to the space left in the front et' the skirt, between the oppositie ends of the springsgg, of the bands a a a a, or the equivalent strip of cloth; the use of the semi-elliptical spring d d, as shown; and the use of, the short springs or ties ff on each side of the skirt.

As hoop-skirts are made of many degrees of strength and adapted for the varying uses of diiferentwearcrs, I am unable to givein detail a method of constructing my invention which` shall apply without change in every instance. I prefer to apply the short springs ff to every alternate spring g, but for heavy skirts may be forced to apply ashort spring, f, to every spring in the lower part of the skirt. In like manner, it may be necessary to insert one or more additional sp1-ings al d in a heavy skirt', and the application of the short springs ff and of the-semi-elliptical springs d cZ must be made with a view to preserve the elasticity and the circular form of the skirt. Y

I am aware that an opening has been left in the lower part of the front of hoop-skirts, to accommodate the feet in walking, as is setforth in the Letters lPatent granted to Thomas B.,De Forest, on the second day of April,

A. D. 1861, for improvement in skirts, and I do not claim the formation of such an o'pening, and the same is closed in my improved skirt by means. of the bends a a, or the equivalent strip of el-otll, and I disclaim as my invention the method of eonstrueting hoop-skirts set forth in said Letters Patent.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, und desire to secure by Letters Potent, is- 1. The springs, extending from the tape b around the skirt to the tape b', in combination with the bonds a, and one or more semi-elliptical springs d, the whole constructed substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 2. In a, hoop-skirt, divided wholly or partially down the front, I claim the auxiliary ribs or tie-spi'ingsff, applied and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

fitness my hund this fourteenth dey of M11-y, A. D. 1867, in presenee'ofL-` F. A. BREWSTER.

Witnesses:

J. F. BARKER, C...N. GILBERT'. 

